MELBOURNE: Wicketkeeper Tim Paine will lead an inexperienced Cricket Australia XI against England in warmup matches in Adelaide and Townsville ahead of the Ashes series.
The 32-year-old Paine, who played four tests for Australia in 2010, and paceman Gurinder Sandhu, who has played two limited-overs internationals, are the only players in the 12-man squad with international experience.
"These guys now have a really exciting opportunity in front of them to showcase their skills against a world-class England side," Troy Cooley, Australia's National Performance Program coach, said.
The Cricket Australia XI will play England in a pink ball day-night match in Adelaide from Nov. 8-11 and then another tour match in Townsville, in north Queensland state, from Nov. 14-17.
The test series starts at the Gabba in Brisbane on Nov. 23. England arrived in Australia last weekend and will open the tour with a two-day game against a Western Australian XI this weekend.
England holds the Ashes after a 3-2 series win at home in 2015, but was swept 5-0 on its last tour to Australia in 2013-14.
Cricket Australia XI squad: Jake Carder, Jackson Coleman, Michael Cormack, Daniel Fallins, Ryan Gibson, Nick Larkin, Simon Milenko, Tim Paine, Will Pucovski, Gurinder Sandhu, Jason Sangha, Matthew Short.